Genetically engineered myeloid cells rebalance the core immune suppression program in metastasis.

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and greater knowledge of the metastatic microenvironment is necessary to effectively target this process. Microenvironmental changes occur at distant sites prior to clinically detectable metastatic disease; however, the key niche regulatory signals during metastatic progression remain poorly characterized. Here, we identify a core immune suppression gene signature in pre-metastatic niche formation that is expressed predominantly by myeloid cells. We target this immune suppression program by utilizing genetically engineered myeloid cells (GEMys) to deliver IL-12 to modulate the metastatic microenvironment. Our data demonstrate that IL12-GEMy treatment reverses immune suppression in the pre-metastatic niche by activating antigen presentation and T cell activation, resulting in reduced metastatic and primary tumor burden and improved survival of tumor-bearing mice. We demonstrate that IL12-GEMys can functionally modulate the core program of immune suppression in the pre-metastatic niche to successfully rebalance the dysregulated metastatic microenvironment in cancer.

Lung fibroblasts facilitate pre-metastatic niche formation by remodeling the local immune microenvironment.

Primary tumors are drivers of pre-metastatic niche formation, but the coordination by the secondary organ toward metastatic dissemination is underappreciated. Here, by single-cell RNA sequencing and immunofluorescence, we identified a population of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2)-expressing adventitial fibroblasts that remodeled the lung immune microenvironment. At steady state, fibroblasts in the lungs produced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which drove dysfunctional dendritic cells (DCs) and suppressive monocytes. This lung-intrinsic stromal program was propagated by tumor-associated inflammation, particularly the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1ß, supporting a pre-metastatic niche. Genetic ablation of Ptgs2 (encoding COX-2) in fibroblasts was sufficient to reverse the immune-suppressive phenotypes of lung-resident myeloid cells, resulting in heightened immune activation and diminished lung metastasis in multiple breast cancer models. Moreover, the anti-metastatic activity of DC-based therapy and PD-1 blockade was improved by fibroblast-specific Ptgs2 deletion or dual inhibition of PGE2 receptors EP2 and EP4. Collectively, lung-resident fibroblasts reshape the local immune landscape to facilitate breast cancer metastasis.

Nerve growth factor inducible (VGF) is a secreted mediator for metastatic breast cancer tropism to the brain.

Brain metastases are one of the most serious clinical problems in breast cancer (BC) progression, associated with lower survival rates and a lack of effective therapies. Thus, to dissect the early stages of the brain metastatic process, we studied the impact of brain organotropic BC cells' secretomes on the establishment of the brain pre-metastatic niche (PMN). We found that BC cells with specific tropism to the brain caused significant blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, as well as microglial activation, in both in vitro and in vivo models. Further, we searched for a brain-organotropic metastatic signature, as a promising source for the discovery of new biomarkers involved in brain metastatic progression. Of relevance, we identified VGF (nerve growth factor inducible) as a key mediator in this process, also impacting the BBB and microglial functions both in vitro and in vivo. In a series of human breast tumors, VGF was found to be expressed in both cancer cells and the adjacent stroma. Importantly, VGF-positive tumors showed a significantly worse prognosis and were associated with HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) overexpression and triple-negative molecular signatures. Further clinical validation in primary tumors from metastatic BC cases showed a significant association between VGF and the brain metastatic location, clearly and significantly impacting on the prognosis of BC patients with brain metastasis. In conclusion, our study reveals a unique secretome signature for BC with a tropism for the brain, highlighting VGF as a crucial mediator in this process. Furthermore, its specific impact as a poor prognostic predictor for BC patients with brain metastasis opens new avenues to target VGF to control the progression of brain metastatic disease. © 2024 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Tumor-derived nanoseeds condition the soil for metastatic organotropism.

Primary tumors secrete a variety of factors to turn distant microenvironments into favorable and fertile 'soil' for subsequent metastases. Among these 'seeding' factors that initiate pre-metastatic niche (PMN) formation, tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are of particular interest as tumor EVs can direct organotropism depending on their surface integrin profiles. In addition, EVs also contain versatile, bioactive cargo, which include proteins, metabolites, lipids, RNA, and DNA fragments. The cargo incorporated into EVs is collectively shed from cancer cells and cancer-associated stromal cells. Increased understanding of how tumor EVs promote PMN establishment and detection of EVs in bodily fluids highlight how tumor EVs could serve as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as provide a therapeutic target for metastasis prevention. This review focuses on tumor-derived EVs and how they direct organotropism and subsequently modulate stromal and immune microenvironments at distal sites to facilitate PMN formation. We also outline the progress made thus far towards clinical applications of tumor EVs.

Role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in tumor recurrence.

The establishment of primary tumor cells in distant organs, termed metastasis, is the principal cause of cancer mortality and is a crucial therapeutic target in oncology. Thus, it is critical to establish a better understanding of metastatic progression for the future development of improved therapeutic approaches. Indeed, such development requires insight into the timing of tumor cell dissemination and seeding of distant organs resulting in occult lesions. Following dissemination of tumor cells from the primary tumor, they can reside in niches in distant organs for years or decades, following which they can emerge as an overt metastasis. This timeline of metastatic dormancy is regulated by interactions between the tumor, its microenvironment, angiogenesis, and tumor antigen-specific T-cell responses. An improved understanding of the mechanisms and interactions responsible for immune evasion and tumor cell release from dormancy would help identify and aid in the development of novel targeted therapeutics. One such mediator of dormancy is myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), whose number in the peripheral blood (PB) or infiltrating tumors has been associated with cancer stage, grade, patient survival, and metastasis in a broad range of tumor pathologies. Thus, extensive studies have revealed a role for MDSCs in tumor escape from adoptive and innate immune responses, facilitating tumor progression and metastasis; however, few studies have considered their role in dormancy. We have posited that MDSCs may regulate disseminated tumor cells resulting in resurgence of senescent tumor cells. In this review, we discuss clinical studies that address mechanisms of tumor recurrence including from dormancy, the role of MDSCs in their escape from dormancy during recurrence, the development of occult metastases, and the potential for MDSC inhibition as an approach to prolong the survival of patients with advanced malignancies. We stress that assessing the impact of therapies on MDSCs versus other cellular targets is challenging within the multimodality interventions required clinically.

ITGB3-enriched extracellular vesicles mediate the formation of osteoclastic pre-metastatic niche to promote lung adenocarcinoma bone metastasis.

The regulatory mechanisms underlying bone metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are not yet fully understood despite the frequent occurrence of bone involvement. This study aimed to examine the involvement and mechanism of integrin subunit beta 3 (ITGB3) in the process of LUAD bone metastasis. Our findings indicate that ITGB3 facilitates the migration and invasion of LUAD cells in vitro and metastasis to the bone in vivo. Furthermore, ITGB3 stimulates osteoclast production and activation, thereby expediting osteolytic lesion progression. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from the conditioned medium (CM) of LUAD cells overexpressing ITGB3 determined that ITGB3 facilitates osteoclastogenesis and enhances osteoclast activity by utilizing EVs-mediated transport to RAW264.7 cells. Our in vivo findings demonstrated that ITGB3-EVs augmented the population of osteoclasts, thereby establishing an osteoclastic pre-metastatic niche (PMN) conducive to the colonization and subsequent growth of LUAD cells in the bone. ITGB3 is enriched in serum EVs of patients diagnosed with LUAD bone metastasis, potentially facilitating osteoclast differentiation and activation in vitro. Our research illustrates that ITGB3-EVs derived from LUAD cells facilitate osteoclast differentiation and activation by modulating the phosphorylation level of p38 MAPK. This process ultimately leads to the generation of osteolytic PMN and accelerates the progression of bone metastasis.

The Role of Osteocytes in Pre-metastatic Niche Formation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The formation of a pre-metastatic niche (PMN), in which primary cancer cells prime the distant site to be favorable to their engraftment and survival, may help explain the strong osteotropism observed in multiple cancers, such as breast and prostate. PMN formation, which includes extracellular matrix remodeling, increased angiogenesis and vascular permeability, enhanced bone marrow-derived cell recruitment and immune suppression, has mostly been described in soft tissues. In this review, we summarize current literature of PMN formation in bone. We also present evidence of a potential role for osteocytes to be the primary mediators of PMN development. RECENT FINDINGS: Osteocytes regulate the bone microenvironment in myriad ways beyond canonical bone tissue remodeling, including changes that contribute to PMN formation. Perilacunar tissue remodeling, which has been observed in both bone and non-bone metastatic cancers, is a potential mechanism by which osteocyte-cancer cell signaling stimulates changes to the bone microenvironment. Osteocytes also protect against endothelial permeability, including that induced by cancer cells, in a loading-mediated process. Finally, osteocytes are potent regulators of cells within the bone marrow, including progenitors and immune cells, and might be involved in this aspect of PMN formation. Osteocytes should be examined for their role in PMN formation.

Cargo-eliminated osteosarcoma-derived small extracellular vesicles mediating competitive cellular uptake for inhibiting pulmonary metastasis of osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) derived small extracellular vesicles (OS-sEVs) have been shown to induce the formation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), characterized by elevated pro-inflammatory factor expression and enhanced migratory and contractile abilities. These CAFs play a crucial role in priming lung metastasis by orchestrating the pre-metastatic niche (PMN) in the lung. Disrupting the communication between OS-sEVs and lung fibroblasts (LFs) emerges as a potent strategy to hinder OS pulmonary metastasis. Our previously established saponin-mediated cargo-elimination strategy effectively reduces the cancer-promoting ability of tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles (TsEVs) while preserving their inherent targeting capability. In this study, we observed that cargo-eliminated OS-sEVs (CE-sEVs) display minimal pro-tumoral and LFs activation potential, yet retain their ability to target LFs. The uptake of OS-sEVs by LFs can be concentration-dependently suppressed by CE-sEVs, preventing the conversion of LFs into CAFs and thus inhibiting PMN formation and pulmonary metastasis of OS. In summary, this study proposes a potential strategy to prevent LFs activation, PMN formation in the lung, and OS pulmonary metastasis through competitive inhibition of OS-sEVs' function by CE-sEVs.

The origin of brain malignancies at the blood-brain barrier.

Despite improvements in extracranial therapy, survival rate for patients suffering from brain metastases remains very poor. This is coupled with the incidence of brain metastases continuing to rise. In this review, we focus on core contributions of the blood-brain barrier to the origin of brain metastases. We first provide an overview of the structure and function of the blood-brain barrier under physiological conditions. Next, we discuss the emerging idea of a pre-metastatic niche, namely that secreted factors and extracellular vesicles from a primary tumor site are able to travel through the circulation and prime the neurovasculature for metastatic invasion. We then consider the neurotropic mechanisms that circulating tumor cells possess or develop that facilitate disruption of the blood-brain barrier and survival in the brain's parenchyma. Finally, we compare and contrast brain metastases at the blood-brain barrier to the primary brain tumor, glioma, examining the process of vessel co-option that favors the survival and outgrowth of brain malignancies.

Molecular and metabolic regulation of immunosuppression in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Immunosuppression is a hallmark of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), contributing to early metastasis and poor patient survival. Compared to the localized tumors, current standard-of-care therapies have failed to improve the survival of patients with metastatic PDAC, that necessecitates exploration of novel therapeutic approaches. While immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and therapeutic vaccines have emerged as promising treatment modalities in certain cancers, limited responses have been achieved in PDAC. Therefore, specific mechanisms regulating the poor response to immunotherapy must be explored. The immunosuppressive microenvironment driven by oncogenic mutations, tumor secretome, non-coding RNAs, and tumor microbiome persists throughout PDAC progression, allowing neoplastic cells to grow locally and metastasize distantly. The metastatic cells escaping the host immune surveillance are unique in molecular, immunological, and metabolic characteristics. Following chemokine and exosomal guidance, these cells metastasize to the organ-specific pre-metastatic niches (PMNs) constituted by local resident cells, stromal fibroblasts, and suppressive immune cells, such as the metastasis-associated macrophages, neutrophils, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The metastatic immune microenvironment differs from primary tumors in stromal and immune cell composition, functionality, and metabolism. Thus far, multiple molecular and metabolic pathways, distinct from primary tumors, have been identified that dampen immune effector functions, confounding the immunotherapy response in metastatic PDAC. This review describes major immunoregulatory pathways that contribute to the metastatic progression and limit immunotherapy outcomes in PDAC. Overall, we highlight the therapeutic vulnerabilities attributable to immunosuppressive factors and discuss whether targeting these molecular and immunological "hot spots" could improve the outcomes of PDAC immunotherapies.

The role of extracellular vesicles in circulating tumor cell-mediated distant metastasis.

Current research has demonstrated that extracellular vesicles (EVs) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are very closely related in the process of distant tumor metastasis. Primary tumors are shed and released into the bloodstream to form CTCs that are referred to as seeds to colonize and grow in soil-like distant target organs, while EVs of tumor and nontumor origin act as fertilizers in the process of tumor metastasis. There is no previous text that provides a comprehensive review of the role of EVs on CTCs during tumor metastasis. In this paper, we reviewed the mechanisms of EVs on CTCs during tumor metastasis, including the ability of EVs to enhance the shedding of CTCs, protect CTCs in circulation and determine the direction of CTC metastasis, thus affecting the distant metastasis of tumors.

Influence of Exosomes on Astrocytes in the Pre-Metastatic Niche of Lung Cancer Brain Metastases.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death globally. There are several reasons for this high mortality rate, including metastasis to multiple organs, especially the brain. Exosomes play a pivotal role in tumor metastasis by remodeling the microenvironment of remote target organs and promoting the pre-metastatic niche's formation. Since astrocytes are indispensable for maintaining the homeostasis of brain microenvironment, it's of great interest to explore the influence of lung cancer cell-derived exosomes on astrocytes to further understand the mechanism of lung cancer brain metastasis. RESULTS: Twenty four h after co-culture of H1299 cell-derived exosomes and SVG P12 cells, the viability of astrocytes decreased and the apoptosis increased. The levels of cytokines in the supernatant including GROα/CXCL1, IFN-γ, IL-3, IL-5, IL-15, LIF, M-CSF, NGF, PDGF, and VEGF were significantly enhanced, while IL-7 secretion was significantly reduced. Meanwhile, apoptosis-related proteins MAP2K1, TUBA1C, RELA, and CASP6 were up-regulated. And the differentially expressed proteins were involved in regulating metabolic pathways. CONCLUSION: Exosomes of H1299 could induce apoptosis of astrocytes as well as promote their secretion of cytokines that were conducive to the formation of the inflammatory microenvironment and immunosuppressive microenvironment, and affect their metabolic pathways, thus facilitating the formation of pre-metastatic niche in lung cancer brain metastases.

Premetastatic Niche Mimicking Bone-On-A-Chip: A Microfluidic Platform to Study Bone Metastasis in Cancer Patients.

Primary cancer modulates the bone microenvironment to sow the seeds of dormancy and metastasis in tumor cells, leading to multiple organ metastasis and death. In this study, 3D printing and bone-on-a-chip (BOC) are combined to develop a BOC platform that mimics the pre-metastatic niches (PMNs) and facilitates elucidation of the interactions between bone-resident cells and metastatic tumor cells under the influence of primary cancer. Photocrosslinkable gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) is used as a 3D culturing hydrogel to encapsulate cells, and circulate tumor culture medium (CM) adjacent to the hydrogel to verify the critical role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and osteoclasts (RAW264.7s). Three niches: the dormancy niche, the perivascular niche, and the "vicious cycle" niche, are devised to recapitulate bone metastasis in one chip with high cell viability and excellent nutrient exchange. With respect to tumor dormancy and reactivation, the invadopodia formation of A549 lung cancer cells in communication with MSCs and RAW264.7 via the cortactin pathway is researched. As a proof of concept, the functionality and practicality of the platform are demonstrated by analyzing the invadopodia formation and the influence of various cells, and the establishment of the dynamic niches paves the way to understanding PMN formation and related drug discovery.

Exosomal MFI2-AS1 sponge miR-107 promotes non-small cell lung cancer progression through NFAT5.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease driven by extensive molecular alterations. Exosomes are small vesicles with diameters ranging from 30 to 150 nm released by various cell types and are important mediators of information transmission in tumor cells. Exosomes contain proteins, lipids, and various types of nucleic acids, including miRNAs and even DNA and RNA. MFI2 Antisense RNA 1 (MFI2-AS1) is a long noncoding RNA known to promote cell proliferation, metastasis and invasion in a variety of malignancies. METHODS: The relative expression of MFI2-AS1 in NSCLC tissues was examined using RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) staining. Transwell migration and wound healing assays were used to analyze cell migration and invasion abilities. Tube formation is used to assess angiogenic capacity. CCK8 was used to assess cell proliferation ability. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments confirmed that MFI2-AS1 acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-107. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to identify potential binding between MFI2-miRNA and target mRNA. In vivo experiments were performed by injecting exosomes into subcutaneous tumors to establish animal models. RESULT: Exosomal MFI2-AS1 increases NFAT5 expression by sponging miR-107, which in turn activates the PI3K/AKT pathway. We found that the MFI2-AS1/miR-107/NFAT5 axis plays an important role in exosome-mediated NSCLC progression, is involved in pre-metastatic niche formation, and can be used as a blood-based biomarker for NSCLC metastasis. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that MFI2-AS1 is upregulated in exosomes secreted by metastatic NSCLC cells and can be transferred to HUVECs, promoting angiogenesis and migration.

Role of exosomes in prostate cancer bone metastasis.

Bone is a preferred metastatic site of prostate cancer (PCa), and most patients with PCa metastases develop osteogenic bone metastasis, which manifests as disturbed bone structure and poor bone quality. However, the underlying mechanisms of PCa bone metastasis remain unclear. In recent years, increasing evidence has implicated extracellular vesicles, especially exosomes, in PCa bone metastasis. Exosomes are 30-150 nm in diameter, enclosing a cargo of biomolecules, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. Exosomes play a functional role in intercellular communication, modulate the functions of recipient cells, and potentially modulate bone microenvironment changes, thereby influencing the development of PCa bone metastasis. This review summarizes the involvement of exosomes in the imbalance between bone resorption and formation, and establishing a pre-metastatic niche in bone marrow, as well as potential clinical applications of exosomes in therapeutic strategies for treating patients with advanced PCa with bone metastasis.

Formation of pre-metastatic niches induced by tumor extracellular vesicles in lung metastasis.

There are a number of malignant tumors that metastasize into the lung as one of their most common sites of dissemination. The successful infiltration of tumor cells into distant organs is the result of the cooperation between tumor cells and distant host cells. When tumor cells have not yet reached distant organs, in situ tumor cells secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) carrying important biological information. In recent years, scholars have found that tumor cells-derived EVs act as the bridge between orthotopic tumors and secondary metastases by promoting the formation of a pre-metastatic niche (PMN), which plays a key role in awakening dormant circulating tumor cells and promoting tumor cell colonization. This review provides an overview of multiple routes and mechanisms underlying PMN formation induced by EVs and summaries study findings that underline a potential role of EVs in the intervention of lung PMN, both as a target or a carrier for drug design. In this review, the underlying mechanisms of EVs in lung PMN formation are highlighted as well as potential applications to lung metastasis diagnosis and treatment.

Capsaicin shapes gut microbiota and pre-metastatic niche to facilitate cancer metastasis to liver.

Dietary factors are fundamental in tumorigenesis throughout our lifetime. A spicy diet has been ambiguous on the development of cancers, especially in the study of colon cancer metastasis. Here, we utilized a mouse metastasis model to test the potential role of capsaicin in influencing metastasis. Long-term continuous administration of capsaicin diet (300 mg/kg) to mice promotes the formation of liver pre-metastatic niche to facilitate the metastasis of colon cancer cells. Bacteria translocation to liver is clearly observed. Capsaicin increases intestinal barrier permeability and disrupts gut vascular barrier by altering the composition of gut microbiota. Capsaicin not only changes the abundance of mucin-related bacteria like Akkermanisa and Muribaculaceae, but also bacteria involved in bile acids metabolism. Dysregulated bile acids profile is related to the recruitment of natural killer T (NKT) cells in pre-metastatic niche, primary bile acid α-Muricholic acid can enhance the recruitment of NKT cells, while secondary bile acids Glycoursodeoxycholic acid and Taurohyodeoxycholic acid impair the recruitment of NKT cells. These findings reveal long term consumption of capsaicin increases the risk of cancer metastasis through modulating the gut microbiota. Capsaicin (300 mg/kg) disrupts gut barrier and promotes the translocation of bacteria to liver, while altered bile acids metabolism affects the recruitment of NKT cells in liver, forming a pre-metastatic niche and promoting cancer metastasis.

Breast Cancer Exosomal microRNAs Facilitate Pre-Metastatic Niche Formation in the Bone: A Mathematical Model.

Pre-metastatic niche is a location where cancer cells, separating from a primary tumor, find "fertile soil" for growth and proliferation, ensuring successful metastasis. Exosomal miRNAs of breast cancer are known to enter the bone and degrade it, which facilitates cancer cells invasion into the bone interior and ensures its successful colonization. In this paper, we use a mathematical model to first describe, in health, the continuous remodeling of the bone by bone-forming osteoblasts, bone-resorbing osteoclasts and the RANKL-OPG-RANK signaling system, which keeps the balance between bone formation and bone resorption. We next demonstrate how breast cancer exosomal miRNAs disrupt this balance, either by increasing or by decreasing the ratio of osteoclasts/osteoblasts, which results in abnormal high bone resorption or abnormal high bone forming, respectively, and in bone weakening in both cases. Finally we consider the case of abnormally high resorption and evaluate the effect of drugs, which may increase bone density to normal level, thus protecting the bone from invasion by cancer cells.

Mechanisms of colorectal liver metastasis development.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, largely due to the development of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). For the establishment of CRLM, CRC cells must remodel their tumor-microenvironment (TME), avoid the immune system, invade the underlying stroma, survive the hostile environment of the circulation, extravasate into the liver, reprogram the hepatic microenvironment into a permissive pre-metastatic niche, and finally, awake from a dormant state to grow out into clinically detectable CRLM. These steps form part of the invasion-metastasis cascade that relies on reciprocal interactions between the tumor and its ever-changing microenvironment. Such interplay provides a strong rational for therapeutically targeting the TME. In fact, several TME constituents, such as VEGF, TGF-ß coreceptor endoglin, and CXCR4, are already targeted in clinical trials. It is, however, of utmost importance to fully understand the complex interactions in the invasion-metastasis cascade to identify novel potential therapeutic targets and prevent the establishment of CRLM, which may ultimately greatly improve patient outcome.

The Brain Pre-Metastatic Niche: Biological and Technical Advancements.

Metastasis, particularly brain metastasis, continues to puzzle researchers to this day, and exploring its molecular basis promises to break ground in developing new strategies for combatting this deadly cancer. In recent years, the research focus has shifted toward the earliest steps in the formation of metastasis. In this regard, significant progress has been achieved in understanding how the primary tumor affects distant organ sites before the arrival of tumor cells. The term pre-metastatic niche was introduced for this concept and encompasses all influences on sites of future metastases, ranging from immunological modulation and ECM remodeling to the softening of the blood-brain barrier. The mechanisms governing the spread of metastasis to the brain remain elusive. However, we begin to understand these processes by looking at the earliest steps in the formation of metastasis. This review aims to present recent findings on the brain pre-metastatic niche and to discuss existing and emerging methods to further explore the field. We begin by giving an overview of the pre-metastatic and metastatic niches in general before focusing on their manifestations in the brain. To conclude, we reflect on the methods usually employed in this field of research and discuss novel approaches in imaging and sequencing.